San Francisco, CA
SF supervisors grill health dept. on 400 mental health treatment beds promised in 2021
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors budget and finance committee on Wednesday questioned the health department on the effectiveness of their planned treatment bed expansion plan.
For two hours, San Francisco supervisors questioned the city’s public health department for two hours mostly asking where the treatment beds were.
“It sounds like for most of the beds for people with severe behavioral health needs – those are ‘as needed’ beds and we have no idea. In school they talk about butts in seats. We have no idea based on the numbers we are looking at today, how many San Franciscans with several health needs are in those ‘as needed’ beds?,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman during the budget and finance committee on Wednesday.
In 2021, San Francisco announced a plan to add 400 new treatment beds for mental health and addiction treatment. On Wednesday, the city’s health department said they expansion has led to a total of 2,550 treatment beds, but Supervisor Mandelman said their numbers may not be accurate.
“They had a plan to add 400 additional beds. They believed and they are telling us that they are close to having added those beds but they have some key foot notes that are concerning to us. One is 15-20% of those beds may be unavailable because of staffing challenges,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
MORE: SF to implement state’s CARE Court program to treat severe mental health disorders
The public health department said the staffing shortage is part of a nationwide staffing crisis for mental health professionals.
“In terms of the intersection between impact of staffing on ‘as needed’ beds – we don’t know that. Meaning we apply for a placement. The facility accepts or doesn’t accept and we don’t track if they are not accepting,” said Hillary Kunins, director of San Francisco’s Behavioral Health Services during the meeting.
When it comes to getting treatment beds San Francisco competes with other counties for access.
“Particularly for the highest levels of beds the competition is fierce. We have never replaced the state mental health hospitals that have been closed. There are these private facilities that are sort of providing but there are not nearly enough beds for the needs of all the counties, and San Francisco has a lot of need,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
The Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center has 136 beds. The city funds 65 of those beds. They are urging the public health department to pay for more treatment beds within the city.
MORE: Why accessing drug addiction treatment is so hard in San Francisco
“We have basically 50 to 60 beds open that the city can purchase today,” said Adrian Maldonado, director of the Salvation Army’s detox facility, called the Harbor Light Center.
Luz Pena: “You are saying they are empty?”
Adrian Maldonado: “They are empty. If they chose to do thatm we can then fill up harbor light. If people stop using dope, they are not in crisis in the street. They don’t go to the emergency room. They don’t have the police coming to arrest them.”
Supervisor Mandelman wants the city to change its plan for treatment beds
“I think we need to own more of those buildings ourselves and if we have excess we share them with other counties,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
MORE: Will Prop. 1 help solve CA homelessness? Experts weigh in on $6B bond for mental health facilities
The need for treatment beds in San Francisco is climbing and according to experts mental illness among the unhoused population across California is as high as 80%.
“I talk to my colleagues across the country and we are seeing really substantial demand for resources that include medical but go well beyond medical particularly those who are experiencing homelessness. Those who are experiencing behavioral issues and even more so perhaps when they overlap,” said Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of Emergency Medicine at Zuckerberg SF General Hospital.
After Wednesday ‘s committee meeting, supervisors are planning to request a follow up with the department of public health for more clarity.
We asked the San Francisco Public Health Department how many beds are “empty.” In an email, they said:
“To view bed capacity and availability for someone seeking substance use or mental health treatment, please visit at: https://findtreatment-sf.org/.
The majority of beds are utilized. However, Behavioral Health staffing challenges are a federal, state, and local issue and we know that staffing has intermittent impacts on service availability. However, we have seen increases in clients served in our bed expansion in a number of areas including substance use disorder residential, substance use disorder residential step-down, and in withdrawal management, psychiatric respite, drug sobering programs and facilities.”
In their presentation, the health department broke down the bed expansion:
“Additional bed expansion projects in progress include:
– Additional Enhanced Dual Diagnosis (18 beds)
– Transition-Age Youth Residential (10 beds)
– Crisis Diversion (16 beds)
– Dual Diagnosis Women’s Therapeutic Residence for Justice-Involved
– Women (33 beds)
– SUD Stabilization (20 beds)
– Other projects pending approval of Behavioral Health Bridge Housing spending plan”
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San Francisco, CA
50 Beagles Rescued From Wisconsin Lab Arrive in Bay Area, SF Activist Faces Felony Charges
Animal rescue groups persuaded a Wisconsin breeding lab to sell 1,500 beagles after activists worked for a decade to free them, and 50 of the dogs arrived in the Bay Area Sunday. Meanwhile, an SF activist faces 12 years in prison for rescuing some of them prior to the deal.
Last month, several animal rights activists attempted to free 1,500 beagles at Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms, the second-largest breeder of beagles for laboratories in the US, as KGO reported last week. Four activists, including Dean Guzman Wyrzykowski of San Francisco, were arrested during the rescue operation and charged with felonies, with up to 12 years in prison, according to a post by Wyrzykowski on social media.
“There are thousands of dogs just like her in laboratories across the country,” says Wyrzykowski, while holding the dog he’s accused of stealing.
Last week, animal rights group Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which is based in Florida, and DC-based Center for a Humane Economy made a confidential agreement with the lab to purchase the animals to be adopted out by rescue groups. Per KGO, well-known Berkeley activist Zoe Rosenberg, who brought one beagle named Chester home with her, was among the volunteers helping the dogs in Wisconsin after they were rescued.
As KGO reports, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group brought 50 beagles to the Bay Area via school bus Sunday, and they’ll be adopting them out to homes in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and nearby cities once they’ve received veterinary care.
The dogs had likely never touched grass until after leaving the lab, and they’ve been slowly acclimating to their new lives. Some were reportedly malnourished and most had bad teeth and were in need of dental work.
“It was very emotional,” says Wendy Lansdon, a volunteer with Northern California Beagle Rescue, speaking to KGO about when the bus full of dogs first arrived in the Bay Area. “Some of them were really quiet when we got in there, some of them were happy, and the other ones were terrified.”
Prior to the dogs’ arrival, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group announced on social media it was seeking foster home volunteers in Fremont, San Jose, and Sacramento — near where the beagles will be receiving veterinary care. The group is also requesting donations to help fund the dogs’ vet care.
According to the site Save the Dogs, activists had been pushing for the closure of Ridglan Farms for almost 10 years, as investigators, whistleblowers, veterinarians, and others worked to spread the word about the inhumane conditions of the lab, which stayed in operation for decades, despite being hit with hundreds of state-level cruelty violations.
“The dogs born there were treated as inventory: bred, confined, sold to research, disposed of,” says Save the Dogs.
Save the Dogs notes that activists are now targeting Marshall BioResources, the largest breeder of dogs for laboratories in the country, which has operations in New York and the United Kingdom.
Image: Northern California Beagle Rescue/Facebook
Division-leading Dodgers aim to snap home losing trend as they open series against the Giants in a matchup of NL West foes
After dropping their second straight home series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into Monday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants sitting atop the National League West Division standings, aiming to avenge a series loss to the Giants from two weeks ago. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 12 games overall and have dropped seven in a row on the road as they begin a 10-game road trip that will keep them away from home until Memorial Day Weekend. The Giants will start Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) in his fourth start in the Majors while the Dodgers will counter with second-year Japanese import Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) who has given up a home run in five consecutive outings.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers:
Date: May 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: MLB Network
Location: Dodgers Stadium
Live Stream the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Dodger center fielder Andy Pages, who has helped Los Angeles claim World Series titles in each of his first two years in the Majors, leads the team this season hitting .333, ranking the 25-year-old Cuban third among all hitters in MLB. Pages is hitting .371 so far in May with five extra base hits and 10 RBIs and has successfully reached base in 13 of his last 14 games.
With nine hits in seven games so far this month, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting a team-leading .310 at the plate in 2026 and is on pace for his eighth career 100-hit campaign. Arraez is one of only two active players with a career batting average above .300, hitting .316 for his career and leads Houston’s Jose Altuve by 15 points.
What time is Giants vs Dodgers?
Coverage of the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers starts Monday, May 11, at 10:00 p.m ET. Tune in to see if the Dodgers can beat the Giants for the fifth time in the last six games at Dodger Stadium or if San Francisco can beat LA for the fourth time in the last five head-to-head matchups.
What channel is the Giants vs Dodgers game on?
Looking to watch the game? Subscribers can tune to MLB Network to catch the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup at home or on the go with the Fubo TV app.
Watch the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the McCoven who hopefully have better things to do than watch this dreadful baseball team. But if this is your chosen way of spending the day, then welcome, and may the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the series for you.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle takes the mound for the Giants, as the veteran makes his eighth start of the year. He’s 1-4 on the season, with a 5.00 ERA, a 4.91 FIP, and 34 strikeouts to 18 walks in 36 innings. He was very strong his last time out, pitching 5.1 shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Pirates, it’s right-hander Bubba Chandler, a 23-year old in his second season. In seven starts this year, Chandler is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA, a 5.60 FIP, and 31 strikeouts to 26 walks in 34 innings. Chandler gave up two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last game. He has issued the most walks in the Major Leagues, so he’s probably foaming at the mouth to face the Giants, who apparently believe that drawing walks is a sin on par with murder.
Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants! Go moms!
Who: San Francisco Giants (15-24) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-18)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
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